People are being urged to fill gaps in their pensions "now" by increasing repayments.

It comes as a new survey finds one in five Irish adults have no financial arrangements in place for retirement.

The findings from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) show the figure increases to 28% for workers aged over-55.

The primary reasons for not having a pension include affordability (30%) and 'not getting around to it' (25%).

Six in 10 Irish adults have a pension in place, while over half intend to use savings to fund or partially fund their later years.

The CCPC says this raises concerns "that consumers are not fully cashing in on the tax benefits of investing in a pension plan compared to traditional savings".

CCPC Director of Communications Grainne Griffin told Lunchtime Live it is a concerning statistic.

"It is positive to see that the pension coverage in ireland is increasing - that more people have a pension," she said.

"But really there is a concern there when you look at the number of people aged 45 to 65 [who] are not a million miles away from retirement who don't have a pension in place.

"What we'd really like to say to those people is if you don't have a pension in place it's really never too late to start."

A company pension scheme in 2012. Image: Rosemary Roberts / Alamy

Ms Griffin said even those with pensions should ensure it meets their needs.

"If you do have a pension in place that's not necessarily enough," she said.

"It's really important that you check just how good a pension you have in place and what's actually going to happen when you reach retirement?

"There's a big difference between a pension, potentially, where you're paying 3% or even 1% into it on an annual basis than say - for example - a pension where you're paying 7% and your employer is also paying 7% in.

"It's really important that you look at your pension statements and see what is your projected income at the date that you plan to retire.

"If there's a big gap between what you're expecting to get and what you want to get, now is the time to start filling that gap by increasing your repayments".

What makes a good pension?

Ms Griffin said it depends what you are looking for when you retire.

"Part of it will depend on what are your ambitions for retirement - are you planning on setting off around the world or do you just want to stay locally?" she said.

"Some people will have ambitions that will affect that.

"In general you'd want to have maybe about two-thirds of your pre-retirement income to continue to live the same quality of life."

An older man counting Euro notes. Picture by: Rodica Ciorba / Alamy

Ms Griffin said potencial mortgages payments or rents should also be considered.

"One of the things that's coming up now that you mightn't have seen in previous generations is this question of, 'Am I still going to be paying a mortgage? Am I still potentially going to be renting?'

"That's most people's biggest monthly outgoing... we are seeing a situation now where people are potentially going to be renting in retirement or where they're going to be paying mortgages.

"There's just a need to plan ahead," she added.

It comes as auto-enrolment is set to be introduced on September 30th.

People who do not have a pension scheme, earn more than €20,000 per year and are aged between 23 and 60 will be automatically enrolled into the new system.

This means they will have extra money when they retire and won’t have to rely on the State pension alone.

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Main image: An older man counts pension money at a table, 11-8-21. Image: Lino Mirgeler/dpa